56,656 Wishes Came True
Generous Donation Received from the Wish Come True Society
KELOWNA, B.C. – June 14, 2021. The Wish Come True Society generously supports families staying at JoeAnna’s House with a donation of $56,656. Since 2012 the organization has worked towards building a pediatric respite/hospice house in Kelowna to help local families with acutely sick children save the time and expense of travelling to Vancouver for medical treatment. The Society dissolved in 2020 and its board members graciously made the decision to donate funds earmarked for their project, to JoeAnna’s House.
“We chose JoeAnna’s House as we are confident that our contribution to this great local resource will help to realize our original purpose of supporting children in need by allowing parents to be able to stay close by while their children are receiving advanced medical care at KGH,” says Angie Huber, of the Wish Come True Society (WCTS). “On behalf of all of the former board members of WCTS we are pleased to present $56,656.90 to this amazing organization for local families and children facing unimaginable health situations.”
As the lead referral hospital for up to 1 million residents in the BC interior, at any given time, one in four beds at KGH is occupied by someone outside the Central Okanagan. One quarter of the families who have stayed at JoeAnna’s House since opening were there for the purpose of Pediatrics and newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The need for JoeAnna’s House has never been greater.
“For so many families wanting to maintain a presence at KGH for the period of their loved ones treatment, the travel and lack of affordable short-term accommodation in Kelowna adds significantly to their hardship,” remarks Darlene Haslock Manager of JoeAnna’s House. “Often we see people who arrive in town with no personal belongings; they are completely overwhelmed because of their loved one’s medical situation and the financial drain and emotional burden of trying to find a place to stay during an already difficult time is simply crushing.”
JoeAnna’s House, which opened its doors in November 2019, is located on the KGH campus and provides much-needed short term accommodations for the families of patients from outside the Central Okanagan who must travel to KGH for advanced or specialized medical care.
JoeAnna’s House, provides 20 guest bedrooms for out of town families and is managed with a small staff and dedicated volunteers and funded entirely by the generosity of donors.
Since 1978, the KGH Foundation has worked with a generous community to raise funds to support world-class healthcare close to home for a rapidly expanding and diverse population in the interior of B.C. Today, the KGH Foundation is the lead fundraising organization for Kelowna General Hospital and its associated facilities, JoeAnna’s House and Central Okanagan Hospice House.
You can help ensure families have a place to stay when they need it most. Donate Now.
